Google Android Lovers

Android Developer for developing android application and game Tools Help

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 23:22:00 -0800

The Android SDK includes a variety of tools that help you develop mobile applications for the Android platform. The tools are classified into two groups: SDK tools and platform tools. SDK tools are platform independent and are required no matter which Android platform you are developing on. Platform tools are customized to support the features of the latest Android platform.

SDK Tools

The SDK tools are installed with the SDK starter package and are periodically updated. The SDK tools are required if you are developing Android applications. The most important SDK tools include the Android SDK Manager (android sdk), the AVD Manager (

android
avd

) the emulator (emulator), and the Dalvik Debug Monitor Server (ddms). A short summary of some frequently-used SDK tools is provided below.

Virtual Device Tools

Android Virtual Device Manager: The AVD Manager provides a graphical user interface in which you can create and manage Android Virtual Devices (AVDs) that run in the Android Emulator.
Android Emulator (emulator): A QEMU-based device-emulation tool that you can use to debug and test your applications in an actual Android run-time environment.
mksdcard: Helps you create a disk image that you can use with the emulator, to simulate the presence of an external storage card (such as an SD card).

Development Tools

android: Lets you manage AVDs, projects, and the installed components of the SDK.
Hierarchy Viewer (hierarchyviewer): Provides a visual representation of the layout's View hierarchy with performance information for each node in the layout, and a magnified view of the display to closely examine the pixels in your layout.
lint: The Android lint tool is a static code analysis tool that checks your Android project source files for potential bugs and optimization improvements.
SDK Manager: Lets you manage SDK packages, such as installed platforms and system images.
sqlite3: Lets you access the SQLite data files created and used by Android applications.

Debugging Tools

adb: Android Debug Bridge (adb) is a versatile command line tool that lets you communicate with an emulator instance or connected Android-powered device. It also provides access to the device shell.
ADB Shell Commands: Learn the commands available for advanced command-line operations.
Dalvik Debug Monitor Server (ddms): Lets you debug Android applications.
Device Monitor: Android Device Monitor is a stand-alone tool that provides a graphical user interface for several Android application debugging and analysis tools.
dmtracedump: Generates graphical call-stack diagrams from trace log files. The tool uses the Graphviz Dot utility to create the graphical output, so you need to install Graphviz before running dmtracedump. For more information on using dmtracedump, see Profiling with Traceview and dmtracedump
hprof-conv: Converts the HPROF file that is generated by the Android SDK tools to a standard format so you can view the file in a profiling tool of your choice.
Systrace: Lets you analyze the execution of your application in the context of system processes, to help diagnose display and performance issues.
traceview: Provides a graphical viewer for execution logs saved by your application.
Systrace: Lets you analyze the execution of your application in the context of system processes, to help diagnose display and performance issues.

Build Tools

JOBB: Allows you to build encrypted and unencrypted APK expansion files in Opaque Binary Blob (OBB) format.
ProGuard: Shrinks, optimizes, and obfuscates your code by removing unused code and renaming classes, fields, and methods with semantically obscure names.
zipalign: Optimizes .apk files by ensuring that all uncompressed data starts with a particular alignment relative to the start of the file. This should always be used to align .apk files after they have been signed.

Image Tools

Draw 9-patch: Allows you to easily create a NinePatch graphic using a WYSIWYG editor. It also previews stretched versions of the image, and highlights the area in which content is allowed.
Vector Asset Studio: Helps you add material icons and import Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) files into your Android Studio project as a drawable resource.
etc1tool: A command line utility that lets you encode PNG images to the ETC1 compression standard and decode ETC1 compressed images back to PNG.
Tracer for OpenGL ES: Allows you to capture OpenGL ES commands and frame by frame images to help you understand how your graphics commands are being executed.

Platform Tools

The platform tools are typically updated every time you install a new SDK platform. Each update of the platform tools is backward compatible with older platforms. Usually, you directly use only one of the platform tools—the Android Debug Bridge (adb). Android Debug Bridge is a versatile tool that lets you manage the state of an emulator instance or Android-powered device. You can also use it to install an Android application (.apk) file on a device.
The other platform tools, such as aidl, aapt, dexdump, and dx, are typically called by the Android build tools or Android Development Tools (ADT), so you rarely need to invoke these tools directly. As a general rule, you should rely on the build tools or the ADT plugin to call them as needed.

Note: The Android SDK provides additional shell tools that can be accessed through adb, such as bmgr and logcat.

bmgr: A shell tool you can use to interact with the Backup Manager on Android devices supporting API Level 8 or greater.
logcat: Provides a mechanism for collecting and viewing system debug output.; source: official android developer website: http://developer.android.com

Best Android Training Destination

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:44:00 -0800

Most Common Q & A in Android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:34:00 -0800

Android Most usable Q and A site:- StackOverFlow and Android Enthusiasts

Google discussions:- Android Developer and Android Discuss

Top vote at stackoverflow

Adding Events to the User’s Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 04:03:00 -0700

The latest version of the Android SDK, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, reached developers this week. For the first time, the SDK provides access to the Calendar application in a legitimate fashion. One of the most common tasks that developers often want to be able to do is create new events in the user’s calendar, so today we’ll show you how.

The Calendar is a common application that users rely upon on their Android devices. Applications can access the Calendar using the new APIs available in Android 4.0. Adding new events to the Calendar is simple and requires no special application permissions.
Note: The user is responsible for configuring the Calendar application with the appropriate Calendar accounts (e.g. Microsoft Exchange).

This tutorial assumes you have a project that supports Android 4.0 (API Level 14 compatible) and that you are compiling with the latest tools. It also assumes that you’ve properly configured the Calendar application on the Android emulator

Create the Calendar Intent

In order to prompt the user to create a calendar event in their existing calendar, you’ll need to create the appropriate intent. This intent will launch the Calendar application with a screen that allows them to create a new event. The user must confirm this event and can add or change any of the event data associated with the event.
The intent to create a calendar event is shown below:

Intent calIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_INSERT);

calIntent.setData(CalendarContract.Events.CONTENT_URI);

startActivity(calIntent);

This code simply launches the intent. It does not set any of the calendar data associated with the event.

Seeding Calendar Details
You can seed the information associated with a calendar event by supplying a number of intent extras. Extras can be used to describe event details, the date and time of the event, as well as calendar event settings like whether the event can be seen by others and whether it is busy or available time. The typical calendar event settings are all available as Extras. For example, the following intent call supplies some title and description information about an event:

Intent calIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_INSERT);

calIntent.setType("vnd.android.cursor.item/event");

calIntent.putExtra(Events.TITLE, "My House Party");

calIntent.putExtra(Events.EVENT_LOCATION, "My Beach House");

calIntent.putExtra(Events.DESCRIPTION, "A Pig Roast on the Beach");

startActivity(calIntent);

Here we set the title, location, and description access for the event using the appropriate intent Extras. These fields will be set in a form that displays for the user to confirm the event in their calendar.

Seeding Calendar Dates and Times
Calendar events are associated with specific dates and times. Some events have a specific time window and others are “all day” events. You can specify the date and time of an event using extras as well.

Intent calIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_INSERT);

calIntent.setType("vnd.android.cursor.item/event");

calIntent.putExtra(Events.TITLE, "My House Party");

calIntent.putExtra(Events.EVENT_LOCATION, "My Beach House");

calIntent.putExtra(Events.DESCRIPTION, "A Pig Roast on the Beach");

GregorianCalendar calDate = new GregorianCalendar(2012, 7, 15);

calIntent.putExtra(CalendarContract.EXTRA_EVENT_ALL_DAY, true);

calIntent.putExtra(CalendarContract.EXTRA_EVENT_BEGIN_TIME,

     calDate.getTimeInMillis());

calIntent.putExtra(CalendarContract.EXTRA_EVENT_END_TIME,

     calDate.getTimeInMillis());

startActivity(calIntent);

Here we set the event to be an all day event on a specific date. You can also set much more fine-grained events by simply using the two extras for the beginning and ending time.

Event Configuration Details
There are several other intent extras you can seed as well. These include whether or not others can see the event (access level) and whether or not the time should be shown as busy or available (availability)
You could set these extras as follows:

calIntent.putExtra(Events.ACCESS_LEVEL, Events.ACCESS_PRIVATE);

calIntent.putExtra(Events.AVAILABILITY, Events.AVAILABILITY_BUSY

Here we include an extra setting to set the access of this event in the calendar to private. We set the availability during the event’s time period to busy (no other events can overlap).

Configuring Recurring Events

here are one-time events, like our pig roast, and then there are recurring events, like by-weekly meetings. You can seed the recurrence rule using an intent extra, like this:

calIntent.putExtra(Events.RRULE, “FREQ=WEEKLY;COUNT=10;WKST=SU;BYDAY=TU,TH”);

The RRULE intent extra takes a standard iCalendar recurrence rule format (see RFC 5544 for details). For example, the one above creates a recurrence rule for an event that occurs every Tuesday and Thursday for 5 weeks.

The Calendar application has been available on the Android platform for a long time, but there have been no documented APIs for accessing it: until now. Android 4.0 (API Level 14) includes a full Calendar content provider which can be used to access the user’s calendar information, provided the application has the appropriate permissions. However, one of the simplest and most common tasks, adding a new event to a user’s calendar, requires no special permissions and is very easy to implement.

Sources:- http://mobile.tutsplus.com

Making the Android UI Fast and Efficient by Romain Guy

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 03:49:00 -0700

Making the Android UI Fast and Efficient by Romain Guy

10 Attractive android tutorials for developers

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Sat, 8 Sep 2012 02:11:00 -0700

10 Attractive android tutorials for developers

I selected some pretty cool and amazing tutorials for developers who going to learn how to make applications for android. For beginners and advanced developers. Some are Tutorials for drawing, some are for using location service, another – using SDK. Hope you find it Useful !

1. OpenGL ES 2.0

This tutorial shows you how to create a simple Android application that uses the OpenGL ES 2.0 API to perform some basic graphics operations.

2. Android Development Tutorial

This tutorial describes how to create Android applications with Eclipse. This is very long tutorial, but also most detailed.

3. Android SDK Tutorial – Learn how to install Android SDK

Tutorial describes how to install the Android SDK and set up your development environment for the first time.

4. Using Facebook SDK in Android development

In this tutorial I show you an android application, which logging in to Facebook, then get the Facebook ID.

5. Drawing with Canvas in Android, Saving your drawings

This is one of tutorials from series of topics for drawing with canvas on android.

6. Android Google Maps Tutorial

In this tutorial we will see how to incorporate Google Maps into an Android app.

7. Android location service example

This tutorial will help you to start using location services (in particular: LocationManager class to get user location and Geocoder to translate location into addresses) and Google Maps on Android.

8. Working With Android Contacts

Learn to work with the Android contacts database. Basic knowledge of accessing SQLite in Android along with using Cursors is expected.

9. How to calculate the distance between two GPS coordinates?

A simple function that takes two GPS coordinates as input and outputs the distance between them in meter.

10. How To Create Android Live Wallpaper

In this article tells how to create live wallpaper from scratch. Step-by-step, we will create live wallpaper that would output TV test pattern on out home screen.

Sources:- http://www.script-tutorials.com/10-attractive-android-tutorials-for-developers/

How to make Bi directional view flipper in android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Wed, 5 Sep 2012 22:39:00 -0700

Simple ViewAnimator that will animate between two or more views that have been added to it. Only one child is shown at a time. If requested, can automatically flip between each child at a regular interval. more

Now first you have make view_test.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
 android:layout_width="fill_parent"
 android:layout_height="fill_parent"
 android:orientation="vertical" >

 <TextView
     android:layout_width="fill_parent"
     android:layout_height="wrap_content"
     android:text="@string/hello" />
  <LinearLayout
      android:layout_width="fill_parent"
      android:layout_height="wrap_content"
      android:orientation="horizontal">
      <Button
       android:id="@+id/previous"
       android:layout_width="fill_parent"
       android:layout_height="wrap_content"
       android:layout_weight="1"
       android:text="previous"/>
      <Button
       android:id="@+id/next"
       android:layout_width="fill_parent"
       android:layout_height="wrap_content"
       android:layout_weight="1"
       android:text="next"/>
  </LinearLayout>


 <ViewFlipper
     android:id="@+id/flipper"
     android:layout_width="fill_parent"
     android:layout_height="fill_parent">
  
     <LinearLayout
         android:layout_width="fill_parent"
         android:layout_height="fill_parent"
         android:orientation="vertical">
         <ImageView
             android:layout_width="fill_parent"
          android:layout_height="fill_parent"
          android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher"/>
     </LinearLayout>
  
     <LinearLayout
         android:layout_width="fill_parent"
         android:layout_height="fill_parent"
         android:orientation="vertical"
         android:gravity="center"
         android:background="#C0C0C0">
         <ImageView
             android:layout_width="wrap_content"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_weight="1"
          android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher"/>
         <ImageView
             android:layout_width="wrap_content"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_weight="1"
          android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher"/>
     </LinearLayout>
  
     <LinearLayout
         android:layout_width="fill_parent"
         android:layout_height="fill_parent"
         android:orientation="horizontal"
         android:gravity="center"
         android:background="#A0A0A0">
         <ImageView
             android:layout_width="wrap_content"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_weight="1"
          android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher"/>
         <ImageView
             android:layout_width="wrap_content"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_weight="1"
          android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher"/>
     </LinearLayout>
  
 </ViewFlipper>
</LinearLayout>

then you also make this two animation xml file too. like this

/res/anim/flipin_reverse.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<set xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
 android:interpolator="@android:anim/overshoot_interpolator">
 <translate
     android:fromXDelta="-100%p"
     android:toXDelta="0"
     android:duration="500"/>
</set>

/res/anim/flipout_reverse.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<set xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:interpolator="@android:anim/overshoot_interpolator">
<translate
android:fromXDelta="0"
android:toXDelta="100%p"
android:duration="500"/>
</set>

 Then Main java file

public class BiDirectionTest extends Activity {
 /** Called when the activity is first created. */
 @Override
 public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
     super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
     setContentView(R.layout.view_test);
  
     final ViewFlipper page = (ViewFlipper)findViewById(R.id.flipper);
     Button btnNext = (Button)findViewById(R.id.next);
     Button btnPrevious = (Button)findViewById(R.id.previous);
  
     final Animation animFlipInForeward = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, R.anim.flipin);
     final Animation animFlipOutForeward = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, R.anim.flipout);
     final Animation animFlipInBackward = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, R.anim.flipin_reverse);
     final Animation animFlipOutBackward = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, R.anim.flipout_reverse);
  
     btnNext.setOnClickListener(new Button.OnClickListener(){

   @Override
   public void onClick(View arg0) {
    page.setInAnimation(animFlipInForeward);
    page.setOutAnimation(animFlipOutForeward);
    page.showNext();
    
   }});
  
     btnPrevious.setOnClickListener(new Button.OnClickListener(){

   @Override
   public void onClick(View arg0) {
    page.setInAnimation(animFlipInBackward);
    page.setOutAnimation(animFlipOutBackward);
    page.showPrevious();
    
   }});
 }
}

 Sources from www.developer.android.com

another sources:- http://android-er.blogspot.com/2012/02/bi-direction-viewflipper.html

Android tab and tab host tutorials

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 3 Sep 2012 01:40:00 -0700

The TabWidget itself does not do much except contain a list of tab

labels that exist within the parent TabHost.
 Basically it is nothing but a set of labels that the user clicks

 in order to select a specific tab. The actual content of each tab

 is to be held by the 2^nd object in the TabHost i.e. a FrameLayout.

Hence both the TabWidget and FrameLayout need to be present on each tab.

 And in order to align htme one after another,we embed them into a LinearLayout.

  First you have to create separate activities for each tab. Here I have 3 tabs.

The 3 activities are AndroidActivity, WindowActivity, and

IphoneActivity.

Each one displays a simple message using TextView.

public class AndroidActivity extends Activity {
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.android_layout);
    }
}


public class WindowActivity extends Activity {
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.window_layout);
    }
}



public class IphoneActivity extends Activity {
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.iphone_layout);
    }
}

you may defined here there tab:-

androidtab.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">



    <item android:drawable="@drawable/android_selected"

          android:state_selected="true" />



    <item android:drawable="@drawable/android" />

</selector>

windowtab.xml 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">



    <item android:drawable="@drawable/window_selected"

          android:state_selected="true" />



    <item android:drawable="@drawable/window" />

</selector>

iphonetab.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">



    <item android:drawable="@drawable/iphone_selected"

          android:state_selected="true" />



    <item android:drawable="@drawable/iphone" />

</selector>

Here is the main layout file, named main.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<TabHost xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@android:id/tabhost"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent">
    <LinearLayout
        android:orientation="vertical"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="fill_parent">
        <TabWidget
            android:id="@android:id/tabs"
            android:layout_width="fill_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
        <FrameLayout
            android:id="@android:id/tabcontent"
            android:layout_width="fill_parent"
            android:layout_height="fill_parent"/>
    </LinearLayout>
</TabHost>

Now main Java File, looks like this types, you can edit what types

 you want to add your apps

public class TabLayoutExample extends TabActivity {

    /** Called when the activity is first created. */

    @Override

    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {

        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        setContentView(R.layout.main);

        Resources res = getResources();

        TabHost tabHost = getTabHost();

        TabHost.TabSpec spec;

        Intent intent;



        intent = new Intent().setClass(this, MusicActivity.class);



        spec = tabHost.newTabSpec("Android").setIndicator("Android",

                          res.getDrawable(R.drawable.androidtab))

                      .setContent(intent);

        tabHost.addTab(spec);



        intent = new Intent().setClass(this, VideoActivity.class);

        spec = tabHost.newTabSpec("Window").setIndicator("Window",

                          res.getDrawable(R.drawable.windowtab))

                      .setContent(intent);

        tabHost.addTab(spec);

        intent = new Intent().setClass(this, FavoriteActivity.class);

        spec = tabHost.newTabSpec("Iphone").setIndicator("Iphone",

                          res.getDrawable(R.drawable.iphonetab))

                      .setContent(intent);

        tabHost.addTab(spec);

        tabHost.setCurrentTab(2);

    }

}

At last but not the least, dont forget to add to mainfeast all tab , like this.

      <activity   android:label="@string/app_name" android:name=".AndroidActivity" >      </activity>

       <activity   android:label="@string/app_name" android:name=".WindowActivity" >      </activity>

      <activity   android:label="@string/app_name" android:name=".IphoneActivity" >

</activity>

Hop you guys helpful this short article. source form www.developer.android.com

Video Tutorials Here:

iOS / Android cross platform development or Android-iPhone single codebase cross development

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 3 Sep 2012 00:43:00 -0700

Quation is:

I've been playing around with developing Android apps in Java for a while and am starting to get a handle on it. However if I want to on start on an iOS version I need to code everything from scratch - which is, well, undesirable.
I was wondering on what cross platform solutions there are available and how well they work in practice. I've been thinking about web applications - perhaps using jQuery Mobile or Titanium, or Adobe Flash/Flex/Air. I also don't yet have a Mac, which I'll probably have to invest in.
So my Questions :

What cross-platform development environments exist for iOS / Android (and/or other devices)?
What has your experience been with these tools? (this is what I'm really keen to know)

Or

Is there a way, apart from using HTML and JavaScript on a web control, to have an (almost) single codebase for an application that should run on iOS and Android? The big issue is of course that they use a different language (Java for Android, Objective-C for iOS) for application development. It would be nice to have some sort of meta-language that will be translated in Java and in Objective-C. What about Flash? Adobe wasn't supposed to release a tool to create flash-based apps in iOS? Based on current answers, the best cross platform development tool for iOS and Android seems to be Titanium appcelerator. I suspect that this topic will evolve overtime, so feel free to contribute with new information and comments.

Solutions is:-

Disclaimer: I work for a company, Particle Code, that makes a cross-platform framework. There are a ton of companies in this space. New ones seem to spring up every week. Good news for you: you have a lot of choices.
These frameworks take different approaches, and many of them are fundamentally designed to solve different problems. Some are focused on games, some are focused on apps. I would ask the following questions:
What do you want to write? Enterprise application, personal productivity application, puzzle game, first-person shooter?
What kind of development environment do you prefer? IDE or plain ol' text editor?
Do you have strong feelings about programming languages? Of the frameworks I'm familiar with, you can choose from ActionScript, C++, C#, Java, Lua, and Ruby.
My company is more in the game space, so I haven't played as much with the JavaScript+CSS frameworks like Titanium, PhoneGap, and Sencha. But I can tell you a bit about some of the games-oriented frameworks. Games and rich internet applications are an area where cross-platform frameworks can shine, because these applications tend to place more importance of being visually unique and less on blending in with native UIs. Here are a few frameworks to look for:

Unity www.unity3d.com is a 3D games engine. It's really unlike any other development environment I've worked in. You build scenes with 3D models, and define behavior by attaching scripts to objects. You can script in JavaScript, C#, or Boo. If you want to write a 3D physics-based game that will run on iOS, Android, Windows, OS X, or consoles, this is probably the tool for you. You can also write 2D games using 3D assets--a fine example of this is indie game Max and the Magic Marker, a 2D physics-based side-scroller written in Unity. If you don't know it, I recommend checking it out (especially if there are any kids in your household). Max is available for PC, Wii, iOS and Windows Phone 7 (although the latter version is a port, since Unity doesn't support WinPhone). Unity comes with some sample games complete with 3D assets and textures, which really helps getting up to speed with what can be a pretty complicated environment.
Corona www.anscamobile.com/corona is a 2D games engine that uses the Lua scripting language and supports iOS and Android. The selling point of Corona is the ability to write physics-based games very quickly in few lines of code, and the large number of Corona-based games in the iOS app store is a testament to its success. The environment is very lean, which will appeal to some people. It comes with a simulator and debugger. You add your text editor of choice, and you have a development environment. The base SDK doesn't include any UI components, like buttons or list boxes, but a CoronaUI add-on is available to subscribers.
The Particle SDK www.particlecode.com is a slightly more general cross-platform solution with a background in games. You can write in either Java or ActionScript, using a MVC application model. It includes an Eclipse-based IDE with a WYSIWYG UI editor. We currently support building for Android, iOS, webOS, and Windows Phone 7 devices. You can also output Flash or HTML5 for the web. The framework was originally developed for online multiplayer social games, such as poker and backgammon, and it suits 2D games and apps with complex logic. The framework supports 2D graphics and includes a 2D physics engine.

NB:

_{Today we announced that Particle Code has been acquired by Appcelerator, makers of the Titanium cross-platform framework.}
_...
_{As of January 1, 2012, [Particle Code] will no longer officially support the [Particle SDK] platform.}

^Source

The Airplay SDK www.madewithmarmalade.com is a C++ framework that lets you develop in either Visual Studio or Xcode. It supports both 2D and 3D graphics. Airplay targets iOS, Android, Bada, Symbian, webOS, and Windows Mobile 6. They also have an add-on to build AirPlay apps for PSP. My C++ being very rusty, I haven't played with it much, but it looks cool.

In terms of learning curve, I'd say that Unity had the steepest learning curve (for me), Corona was the simplest, and Particle and Airplay are somewhere in between.
Another interesting point is how the frameworks handle different form factors. Corona supports dynamic scaling, which will be familiar to Flash developers. This is very easy to use but means that you end up wasting screen space when going from a 4:3 screen like the iPhone to a 16:9 like the new qHD Android devices. The Particle SDK's UI editor lets you design flexible layouts that scale, but also lets you adjust the layouts for individual screen sizes. This takes a little more time but lets you make the app look custom made for each screen.
Of course, what works for you depends on your individual taste and work style as well as your goals -- so I recommend downloading a couple of these tools and giving them a shot. All of these tools are free to try.
Also, if I could just put in a public service announcement -- most of these tools are in really active development. If you find a framework you like, by all means send feedback and let them know what you like, what you don't like, and features you'd like to see. You have a real opportunity to influence what goes into the next versions of these tools.
Hope this helps.
Solution from the stackoverflow which is accepted answers.

and

You could use Titanium appcelerator. Titanium allows you to write apps in an abstract way with JavaScript and then compile it to a mix of JavaScript and native code. This gives you a native look on iPhone and Android with only a single JavaScript code base.
Titanium states that their approach complies with Apple's terms of service, and there are some Titanium apps in the Android market and itunes store.
it is also accepted answers from stackoverflow

How to update listview in android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 02:49:00 -0700

First you have to remember Don't at any circumstances create a new adapter (or a new data source that holds the Adapter's data).
There's an exception of course, you obviously have to create a new Adapter in OnCreate() { }.
Create a new ArrayList of HashMaps that holds the data

hashMapListForListView = new ArrayList<HashMap<String,String>>();

we can fill it up by calling:

entitiesHashMap.put("name", "Ball");

entitiesHashMap.put("category", "Sport");

entitiesHashMap.put("price", "2.99");

entitiesHashMap.put("imageUri", ball.Uri);

and then, we add it to the List:

hashMapListForListView.add(entitiesHashMap);

We can do this over n over, as many times as we want.
Create a new Adapter in your OnCreate() {}

adapterForList = new SimpleAdapter(Main.this,

hashMapListForListView, R.layout.detailedview,

new String[] {"name", "category", "price", "imageUri"},

new int[] { R.id.EntityName, R.id.Category, R.id.Price, R.id.ThumbImage });

listView.setAdapter(adapterForList);

What we're doing here is that we create a new SimpleAdapter, and tell it to use hashMapForListView as data source, and also tell the listView to use adapterForList as Adapter.
R.layout.detailedview is my own Layout file, that includes 3 textviews called "R.id.EntityName, R.id.Category, R.id.Price, " and an ImageView called "R.id.ThumbImage".
As you can see, we tell the Adapter to use these UI elements.
The refreshing
Since we have data in the List of HashMaps, we can overwrite the values, simply by calling

hashMapListForListView.set(index, entitiesHashMap);

Don't forget to create a new instance of entitiesHashMap, and set it's values just as we did in above to get the result you'd expect. and you have to watch more tutorials goto:http://www.helloandroid.com/tutorials/how-update-custom-listview-images-simply
http://www.androidhive.info/2012/02/android-custom-listview-with-image-and-text/

http://blog.sptechnolab.com/2011/02/01/android/android-custom-listview-items-and-adapters/
http://ballardhack.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/loading-remote-images-in-a-listview-on-android/

UI/Application Exerciser Monkey

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:03:00 -0700

The Monkey is a program that runs on your emulator or device and generates pseudo-random streams of user events such as clicks, touches, or gestures, as well as a number of system-level events. You can use the Monkey to stress-test applications that you are developing, in a random yet repeatable manner.

Overview

The Monkey is a command-line tool that that you can run on any emulator instance or on a device. It sends a pseudo-random stream of user events into the system, which acts as a stress test on the application software you are developing.
The Monkey includes a number of options, but they break down into four primary categories:

Basic configuration options, such as setting the number of events to attempt.
Operational constraints, such as restricting the test to a single package.
Event types and frequencies.
Debugging options.

When the Monkey runs, it generates events and sends them to the system. It also watches the system under test and looks for three conditions, which it treats specially:

If you have constrained the Monkey to run in one or more specific packages, it watches for attempts to navigate to any other packages, and blocks them.
If your application crashes or receives any sort of unhandled exception, the Monkey will stop and report the error.
If your application generates an application not responding error, the Monkey will stop and report the error.

Depending on the verbosity level you have selected, you will also see reports on the progress of the Monkey and the events being generated.

Basic Use of the Monkey

You can launch the Monkey using a command line on your development machine or from a script. Because the Monkey runs in the emulator/device environment, you must launch it from a shell in that environment. You can do this by prefacing adb shell to each command, or by entering the shell and entering Monkey commands directly.
The basic syntax is:

$ adb shell monkey [options] <event-count>

With no options specified, the Monkey will launch in a quiet (non-verbose) mode, and will send events to any (and all) packages installed on your target. Here is a more typical command line, which will launch your application and send 500 pseudo-random events to it:

$ adb shell monkey -p your.package.name -v 500

Command Options Reference

The table below lists all options you can include on the Monkey command line.

Category	Option	Description
General	`--help`	Prints a simple usage guide.
General	`-v`	Each -v on the command line will increment the verbosity level. Level 0 (the default) provides little information beyond startup notification, test completion, and final results. Level 1 provides more details about the test as it runs, such as individual events being sent to your activities. Level 2 provides more detailed setup information such as activities selected or not selected for testing.
Events	`-s <seed>`	Seed value for pseudo-random number generator. If you re-run the Monkey with the same seed value, it will generate the same sequence of events.
	`--throttle <milliseconds>`	Inserts a fixed delay between events. You can use this option to slow down the Monkey. If not specified, there is no delay and the events are generated as rapidly as possible.
	`--pct-touch <percent>`	Adjust percentage of touch events. (Touch events are a down-up event in a single place on the screen.)
	`--pct-motion <percent>`	Adjust percentage of motion events. (Motion events consist of a down event somewhere on the screen, a series of pseudo-random movements, and an up event.)
	`--pct-trackball <percent>`	Adjust percentage of trackball events. (Trackball events consist of one or more random movements, sometimes followed by a click.)
	`--pct-nav <percent>`	Adjust percentage of "basic" navigation events. (Navigation events consist of up/down/left/right, as input from a directional input device.)
	`--pct-majornav <percent>`	Adjust percentage of "major" navigation events. (These are navigation events that will typically cause actions within your UI, such as the center button in a 5-way pad, the back key, or the menu key.)
	`--pct-syskeys <percent>`	Adjust percentage of "system" key events. (These are keys that are generally reserved for use by the system, such as Home, Back, Start Call, End Call, or Volume controls.)
	`--pct-appswitch <percent>`	Adjust percentage of activity launches. At random intervals, the Monkey will issue a startActivity() call, as a way of maximizing coverage of all activities within your package.
	`--pct-anyevent <percent>`	Adjust percentage of other types of events. This is a catch-all for all other types of events such as keypresses, other less-used buttons on the device, and so forth.
Constraints	`-p <allowed-package-name>`	If you specify one or more packages this way, the Monkey will only allow the system to visit activities within those packages. If your application requires access to activities in other packages (e.g. to select a contact) you'll need to specify those packages as well. If you don't specify any packages, the Monkey will allow the system to launch activities in all packages. To specify multiple packages, use the -p option multiple times — one -p option per package.
Constraints	`-c <main-category>`	If you specify one or more categories this way, the Monkey will only allow the system to visit activities that are listed with one of the specified categories. If you don't specify any categories, the Monkey will select activities listed with the category Intent.CATEGORY_LAUNCHER or Intent.CATEGORY_MONKEY. To specify multiple categories, use the -c option multiple times — one -c option per category.
Debugging	`--dbg-no-events`	When specified, the Monkey will perform the initial launch into a test activity, but will not generate any further events. For best results, combine with -v, one or more package constraints, and a non-zero throttle to keep the Monkey running for 30 seconds or more. This provides an environment in which you can monitor package transitions invoked by your application.
	`--hprof`	If set, this option will generate profiling reports immediately before and after the Monkey event sequence. This will generate large (~5Mb) files in data/misc, so use with care. See Traceview for more information on trace files.
	`--ignore-crashes`	Normally, the Monkey will stop when the application crashes or experiences any type of unhandled exception. If you specify this option, the Monkey will continue to send events to the system, until the count is completed.
	`--ignore-timeouts`	Normally, the Monkey will stop when the application experiences any type of timeout error such as a "Application Not Responding" dialog. If you specify this option, the Monkey will continue to send events to the system, until the count is completed.
	`--ignore-security-exceptions`	Normally, the Monkey will stop when the application experiences any type of permissions error, for example if it attempts to launch an activity that requires certain permissions. If you specify this option, the Monkey will continue to send events to the system, until the count is completed.
	`--kill-process-after-error`	Normally, when the Monkey stops due to an error, the application that failed will be left running. When this option is set, it will signal the system to stop the process in which the error occurred. Note, under a normal (successful) completion, the launched process(es) are not stopped, and the device is simply left in the last state after the final event.
	`--monitor-native-crashes`	Watches for and reports crashes occurring in the Android system native code. If --kill-process-after-error is set, the system will stop.
	`--wait-dbg`	Stops the Monkey from executing until a debugger is attached to it.

Source:-www.developer.android.com

AutoCompleteTextView tutorials in android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:35:00 -0700

An editable text view that shows completion suggestions automatically while the user is typing. The list of suggestions is displayed in a drop down menu from which the user can choose an item to replace the content of the edit box with.
The drop down can be dismissed at any time by pressing the back key or, if no item is selected in the drop down, by pressing the enter/dpad center key.
The list of suggestions is obtained from a data adapter and appears only after a given number of characters defined by the threshold.

countries.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
   android:orientation="vertical"
   android:layout_width="fill_parent"
   android:layout_height="fill_parent"
   >
<TextView 
   android:layout_width="fill_parent"
   android:layout_height="wrap_content"
   android:text="@string/hello"
   />
<AutoCompleteTextView android:id="@+id/myautocomplete"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:completionThreshold="1"
/>
</LinearLayout

Main.Java

package com.test.autocomplete;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.text.Editable;
import android.text.TextWatcher;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.AutoCompleteTextView;

public class Main extends Activity implements TextWatcher{

AutoCompleteTextView myAutoComplete;
String item[]={
  "January", "February", "March", "April",
  "May", "June", "July", "August",
  "September", "October", "November", "December"
};

   /** Called when the activity is first created. */
   @Override
   public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
       super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
       setContentView(R.layout.main);

       myAutoComplete = (AutoCompleteTextView)findViewById(R.id.myautocomplete);
      
       myAutoComplete.addTextChangedListener(this);
       myAutoComplete.setAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String>(this, android.R.layout.simple_dropdown_item_1line, item));
      
   }

@Override
public void afterTextChanged(Editable arg0) {
 // TODO Auto-generated method stub

}

@Override
public void beforeTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int count,
  int after) {
 // TODO Auto-generated method stub

}

@Override
public void onTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int before, int count) {
 // TODO Auto-generated method stub

}
}

Video tetorials:-
More details:- http://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/AutoCompleteTextView.html

How to Linking to Your Products in Android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 01:41:00 -0700

For a link that includes the Google Play brand icon, check out the Badges page.

Google Play provides several link formats that let you bring users to your products in the way you want, from Android apps, web pages, ads, reviews, articles, social media posts, and more.
The link formats let you:

Link to a specific app's product details page
Link to a list of all of your apps, or
Link to a search result of your choice
Link to a collection on Google Play

If you are linking from an Android app, you can also control whether the link launches the Play Store application or the browser, which takes the user to the Google Play web site.

Linking to a Product Details Page

Use the format below to deep-link users directly to a specific app's product details page. At the product details page, users can see the app description, screenshots, reviews and more, and then install it.
To create the link, you need to know the app's fully qualified package name, which is declared in the app's manifest file. The package name is also visible in the Developer Console.

From a web site:

http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=<package_name>

From an Android app:

market://details?id=<package_name>

Here's an example:

http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps

For details on how to send the link in an Android app, see Linking from an Android App.

Linking to a Product List

Use the format below to link users to a list of apps published by you. The product list lets users see all of the apps from a specific publisher, with ratings, editorial badges, and an Install button for each.
To create the link, you need to know your publisher name, which is available from the Developer Console.

From a web site:

http://play.google.com/store/search?q=pub:<publisher_name>

From an Android app:

market://search?q=pub:<publisher_name>

Here's an example:

http://play.google.com/store/search?q=pub:Google Inc.

For details on how to send the link in an Android app, see Linking from an Android App.

Linking to a Search Result

Use the format below to link users to a search query result on Google Play. The search result page shows a list of apps (and optionally other content) that match the query, with ratings, badges, and an Install button for each.
To create the link, you just need a search query string. If you want the query to search outside of the Google Play Apps listings, you can remove the &c=apps part of the link URL.

From a web site:

http://play.google.com/store/search?q=<search_query>&c=apps

From an Android app:

market://search?q=<seach_query>&c=apps

Here's an example:

http://play.google.com/store/search?q=maps&c=apps

For details on how to send the link in an Android app, see Linking from an Android App.

Linking to a Collection

If your app is featured or appears in one of the Google Play Top charts or collections, you can use the format below to link users directly to the collection. The collection shows a ranked list of apps in the collection, with ratings, short descriptions, and an Install button.

From a web site:

http://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/<collection_name>

From an Android app:

market://apps/collection/<collection_name>

Here's an example:

http://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/editors_choice

For details on how to send the link in an Android app, see Linking from an Android App.

Table 1. Collections on Google Play.

Collection	collection_name
Staff Picks (Featured)	featured
Editor's Choice	editors_choice
Top Paid	topselling_paid
Top Free	topselling_free
Top New Free	topselling_new_free
Top New Paid	topselling_new_paid
Top Grossing	topgrossing
Trending	movers_shakers
Best Selling in Games	topselling_paid_game

Linking from an Android App

There are two general formats for links that are accessible to users on Android devices, The two formats trigger slightly different behaviors on the device:

market:// Launches the Play Store app to load the target page.
http:// Lets the user choose whether to launch the Play Store app or the browser to handle the request. If the browser handles the request, it loads the target page on the Google Play web site.

In general, you should use http:// format for links on web pages and market:// for links in Android apps.
If you want to link to your products from an Android app, create an Intent that opens an Google Play URL, as shown in the example below.

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setData(Uri.parse("market://details?id=com.example.android"));
startActivity(intent);

Summary of URL formats

The table below provides a summary of the URIs currently supported by the Google Play (both on the web and in an Android application), as discussed in the previous sections.

For this result	Web page link	Android app link
Show the product details page for a specific app	`http://play.google.com/` `store/apps/details?id=<package_name>`	`market://details?id=` `<package_name>`
Show apps by a specific publisher	`http://play.google.com/store/` `search?q=pub:<publisher_name>`	`market://search?q=pub:` `<publisher_name>`
Search for apps using a general string query.	`http://play.google.com/store/search?q=<query>`	`market://search?q=<query>`

Sources: www.developer.android.com

Managing Screen Sizes using new tools in android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:00:00 -0700

[This post in originally publish in android officially blog site, original author by Dianne Hackborn, post on android blog by Tim Bray]
Android 3.2 includes new tools for supporting devices with a wide range of screen sizes. One important result is better support for a new size of screen; what is typically called a “7-inch” tablet. This release also offers several new APIs to simplify developers’ work in adjusting to different screen sizes.
This a long post. We start by discussing the why and how of Android “dp” arithmetic, and the finer points of the screen-size buckets. If you know all that stuff, you can skip down to “Introducing Numeric Selectors” to read about what’s new. We also provide our recommendations for how you can do layout selection in apps targeted at Android 3.2 and higher in a way that should allow you to support the maximum number of device geometries with the minimum amount of effort.
Of course, the official write-up on Supporting Multiple Screens is also required reading for people working in this space.

Understanding Screen Densities and the “dp”

Resolution is the actual number of pixels available in the display, density is how many pixels appear within a constant area of the display, and size is the amount of physical space available for displaying your interface. These are interrelated: increase the resolution and density together, and size stays about the same. This is why the 320x480 screen on a G1 and 480x800 screen on a Droid are both the same screen size: the 480x800 screen has more pixels, but it is also higher density.
To remove the size/density calculations from the picture, the Android framework works wherever possible in terms of "dp" units, which are corrected for density. In medium-density ("mdpi") screens, which correspond to the original Android phones, physical pixels are identical to dp's; the devices’ dimensions are 320x480 in either scale. A more recent phone might have physical-pixel dimensions of 480x800 but be a high-density device. The conversion factor from hdpi to mdpi in this case is 1.5, so for a developer's purposes, the device is 320x533 in dp's.

Screen-size Buckets

Android has included support for three screen-size “buckets” since 1.6, based on these “dp” units: “normal” is currently the most popular device format (originally 320x480, more recently higher-density 480x800); “small” is for smaller screens, and “large” is for “substantially larger” screens. Devices that fall in the “large” bucket include the Dell Streak and original 7” Samsung Galaxy Tab. Android 2.3 introduced a new bucket size “xlarge”, in preparation for the approximately-10” tablets (such as the Motorola Xoom) that Android 3.0 was designed to support.
The definitions are:

xlarge screens are at least 960dp x 720dp.
large screens are at least 640dp x 480dp.
normal screens are at least 470dp x 320dp.
small screens are at least 426dp x 320dp. (Android does not currently support screens smaller than this.)

Here are some more examples of how this works with real screens:

A QVGA screen is 320x240 ldpi. Converting to mdpi (a 4/3 scaling factor) gives us 426dp x 320dp; this matches the minimum size above for the small screen bucket.
The Xoom is a typical 10” tablet with a 1280x800 mdpi screen. This places it into the xlarge screen bucket.
The Dell Streak is a 800x480 mdpi screen. This places it into the bottom of the large size bucket.
A typical 7” tablet has a 1024x600 mdpi screen. This also counts as a large screen.
The original Samsung Galaxy Tab is an interesting case. Physically it is a 1024x600 7” screen and thus classified as “large”. However the device configures its screen as hdpi, which means after applying the appropriate ⅔ scaling factor the actual space on the screen is 682dp x 400dp. This actually moves it out of the “large” bucket and into a “normal” screen size. The Tab actually reports that it is “large”; this was a mistake in the framework’s computation of the size for that device that we made. Today no devices should ship like this.

Issues With Buckets

Based on developers’ experience so far, we’re not convinced that this limited set of screen-size buckets gives developers everything they need in adapting to the increasing variety of Android-device shapes and sizes. The primary problem is that the borders between the buckets may not always correspond to either devices available to consumers or to the particular needs of apps.
The “normal” and “xlarge” screen sizes should be fairly straightforward as a target: “normal” screens generally require single panes of information that the user moves between, while “xlarge” screens can comfortably hold multi-pane UIs (even in portrait orientation, with some tightening of the space).
The “small” screen size is really an artifact of the original Android devices having 320x480 screens. 240x320 screens have a shorter aspect ratio, and applications that don’t take this into account can break on them. These days it is good practice to test user interfaces on a small screen to ensure there are no serious problems.
The “large” screen size has been challenging for developers — you will notice that it encompases everything from the Dell Streak to the original Galaxy Tab to 7" tablets in general. Different applications may also reasonably want to take different approaches to these two devices; it is also quite reasonable to want to have different behavior for landscape vs. portrait large devices because landscape has plenty of space for a multi-pane UI, while portrait may not.

Introducing Numeric Selectors

Android 3.2 introduces a new approach to screen sizes, with the goal of making developers' lives easier. We have defined a set of numbers describing device screen sizes, which you can use to select resources or otherwise adjust your UI. We believe that using these will not only reduce developers’ workloads, but future-proof their apps significantly.
The numbers describing the screen size are all in “dp” units (remember that your layout dimensions should also be in dp units so that the system can adjust for screen density). They are:

width dp: the current width available for application layout in “dp” units; changes when the screen switches orientation between landscape and portrait.
height dp: the current height available for application layout in “dp” units; also changes when the screen switches orientation.
smallest width dp: the smallest width available for application layout in “dp” units; this is the smallest width dp that you will ever encounter in any rotation of the display.

Of these, smallest width dp is the most important. It replaces the old screen-size buckets with a continuous range of numbers giving the effective size. This number is based on width because that is fairly universally the driving factor in designing a layout. A UI will often scroll vertically, but have fairly hard constraints on the minimum space it needs horizontally; the available width is also the key factor in determining whether to use a phone-style one-pane layout or tablet-style multi-pane layout.
Typical numbers for screen width dp are:

320: a phone screen (240x320 ldpi, 320x480 mdpi, 480x800 hdpi, etc).
480: a tweener tablet like the Streak (480x800 mdpi).
600: a 7” tablet (600x1024).
720: a 10” tablet (720x1280, 800x1280, etc).

Using the New Selectors

When you are designing your UI, the main thing you probably care about is where you switch between a phone-style UI and a tablet-style multi-pane UI. The exact point of this switch will depend on your particular design — maybe you need a full 720dp width for your tablet layout, maybe 600dp is enough, or 480dp, or even some other number between those. Either pick a width and design to it; or after doing your design, find the smallest width it supports.
Now you can select your layout resources for phones vs. tablets using the number you want. For example, if 600dp is the smallest width for your tablet UI, you can do this:

res/layout/main_activity.xml           # For phones
res/layout-sw600dp/main_activity.xml   # For tablets

For the rare case where you want to further customize your UI, for example for 7” vs. 10” tablets, you can define additional smallest widths:

res/layout/main_activity.xml           # For phones
res/layout-sw600dp/main_activity.xml   # For 7” tablets
res/layout-sw720dp/main_activity.xml   # For 10” tablets

Android will pick the resource that is closest to the device’s “smallest width,” without being larger; so for a hypothetical 700dp x 1200dp tablet, it would pick layout-sw600dp.
If you want to get fancier, you can make a layout that can change when the user switches orientation to the one that best fits in the current available width. This can be of particular use for 7” tablets, where a multi-pane layout is a very tight fit in portrait::

res/layout/main_activity.xml          # Single-pane
res/layout-w600dp/main_activity.xml   # Multi-pane when enough width

Or the previous three-layout example could use this to switch to the full UI whenever there is enough width:

res/layout/main_activity.xml                 # For phones
res/layout-sw600dp/main_activity.xml         # Tablets
res/layout-sw600dp-w720dp/main_activity.xml  # Large width

In the setup above, we will always use the phone layout for devices whose smallest width is less than 600dp; for devices whose smallest width is at least 600dp, we will switch between the tablet and large width layouts depending on the current available width.
You can also mix in other resource qualifiers:

res/layout/main_activity.xml                 # For phones
res/layout-sw600dp/main_activity.xml         # Tablets
res/layout-sw600dp-port/main_activity.xml    # Tablets when portrait

Selector Precedence

While it is safest to specify multiple configurations like this to avoid potential ambiguity, you can also take advantage of some subtleties of resource matching. For example, the order that resource qualifiers must be specified in the directory name (documented in Providing Resources) is also the order of their “importance.” Earlier ones are more important than later ones. You can take advantage of this to, for example, easily have a landscape orientation specialization for your default layout:

res/layout/main_activity.xml                 # For phones
res/layout-land/main_activity.xml            # For phones when landscape
res/layout-sw600dp/main_activity.xml         # Tablets

In this case when running on a tablet that is using landscape orientation, the last layout will be used because the “swNNNdp” qualifier is a better match than “port”.

Combinations and Versions

One final thing we need to address is specifying layouts that work on both Android 3.2 and up as well as previous versions of the platform.
Previous versions of the platform will ignore any resources using the new resource qualifiers. This, then, is one approach that will work:

res/layout/main_activity.xml           # For phones
res/layout-xlarge/main_activity.xml    # For pre-3.2 tablets
res/layout-sw600dp/main_activity.xml   # For 3.2 and up tablets

This does require, however, that you have two copies of your tablet layout. One way to avoid this is by defining the tablet layout once as a distinct resource, and then making new versions of the original layout resource that point to it. So the layout resources we would have are:

res/layout/main_activity.xml           # For phones
res/layout/main_activity_tablet.xml    # For tablets

To have the original layout point to the tablet version, you put <item> specifications in the appropriate values directories. That is these two files:

res/values-xlarge/layout.xml
res/values-sw600dp/layout.xml

Both would contain the following XML defining the desired resource:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <item type="layout" name="main_activty">
            @layout/main_activity_tablet
    </item>
</resources>

Of course, you can always simply select the resource to use in code. That is, define two or more resources like “layout/main_activity” and “layout/main_activity_tablet,” and select the one to use in your code based on information in the Configuration object or elsewhere. For example:

public class MyActivity extends Activity {
    @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate();

        Configuration config = getResources().getConfiguration();
        if (config.smallestScreenWidthDp >= 600) {
            setContentView(R.layout.main_activity_tablet);
        } else {
            setContentView(R.layout.main_activity);
        }
    }
}

Conclusion

We strongly recommend that developers start using the new layout selectors for apps targeted at Android release 3.2 or higher, as we will be doing for Google apps. We think they will make your layout choices easier to express and manage.
Furthermore, we can see a remarkably wide variety of Android-device form factors coming down the pipe. This is a good thing, and will expand the market for your work. These new layout selectors are specifically designed to make it straightforward for you to make your apps run well in a future hardware ecosystem which is full of variety (and surprises).

Here is the source link:- http://android-developers.blogspot.com
Other useful resources:- http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html
http://developer.android.com/training/multiscreen/index.html
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/providing-resources.html#AlternativeResources
http://developer.android.com/training/multiscreen/screensizes.html

WiFi state is not enabling so how to fix it?

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:33:00 -0700

Question is ,Trying to create a widget for enabling and disabling the wifi.

if(myWifiManager.isWifiEnabled()){
            System.out.println("Toggle Wifi Enabled going to disable");
            myWifiManager.setWifiEnabled(false);
        }
        else{
            System.out.println("Wifi Disabled going to enable ");

            myWifiManager.setWifiEnabled(true);
            System.out.println("WI: "+myWifiManager.isWifiEnabled());
        }

This is the code i am using the disabling part is working fine but the enabling part is not working fine. Soon after enabling the wifi i am printing the wifi state i am getting it as false.

Solving here is the solution

Here is how to turn on and turn off wifi in android.
First you need to declare the following in your manifest file

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE">

</uses-permission>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.UPDATE_DEVICE_STATS">

</uses-permission>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE">

</uses-permission>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK">

</uses-permission>

After doing it that on your Activity class

private WifiManager wifiManager;
@Override public void onCreate(Bundle icicle) {
 ....................
 wifiManager = (WifiManager) this.getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
 if(wifiManager.isWifiEnabled()){
 wifiManager.setWifiEnabled(false);
 }else{
wifiManager.setWifiEnabled(true);
}

}

Explanation
Get the Wifi service from our system

wifiManager = (WifiManager) this.getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);

Check the our wifi is currently turned on or turned off

if(wifiManager.isWifiEnabled()){

Turn on/off our wifi wifiManager.setWifiEnabled();

Reference
WifiEnabler
http://google-androidlovers.blogspot.com/2012/01/scan-for-wireless-networks-in-android.html
http://www.java2s.com/Open-Source/Android/android-platform-apps/Settings/com/android/settings/wifi/WifiApEnabler.java.htm

Or May this

After wifiManager.setWifiEnabled(true);
it took few seconds to connect to the network. It seems WifiManager reconnects automatically after call to wifiManager.setWifiEnabled(true

Dont forget this also

Finally goto more deatils problem and solution in stackoverflow. go to http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=[android]+wifi

how to get twitter profile image in android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:48:00 -0700

It is the simple way to get profile image in twitter using twitter username.

Here is the layout code for this simple project:

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" >

    <TextView
       android:id="@+id/txtUrl"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:text="@string/hello_world"
        tools:context=".MainActivity" />

     <ImageView
         android:id="@+id/imgView"
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:layout_below="@+id/txtUrl"
         android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
         android:background="@drawable/profile" />

     <EditText
         android:id="@+id/editText1"
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
         android:layout_below="@+id/imgView"
         android:layout_marginLeft="62dp"
         android:layout_marginTop="92dp"
         android:ems="10" >

         <requestFocus />
     </EditText>

     <Button
         android:id="@+id/button1"
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
         android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
         android:layout_marginLeft="33dp"
         android:layout_marginTop="38dp"
         android:text="Ok" />

     <TextView
         android:id="@+id/textView1"
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/editText1"
         android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editText1"
         android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
         android:layout_marginLeft="20dp"
         android:text="Username" />

     <TextView
         android:id="@+id/textView2"
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:layout_above="@+id/textView1"
         android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
         android:layout_marginBottom="27dp"
         android:text="Twitter"
         android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>

Now Main Jave Source code that getting

package com.example.test;

import java.io.InputStream;
import java.net.URL;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.drawable.Drawable;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {

    // declare internal using controls
    private TextView txtUrl;
    private ImageView imgView;
    private Button btn_prof;
    private EditText edt;

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        edt = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.editText1);
        btn_prof = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);
        btn_prof.setOnClickListener(this);
    }

    private Drawable grabImageFromUrl(String url) throws Exception {
        return Drawable.createFromStream(
                (InputStream) new URL(url).getContent(), "src");
    }

    @Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        switch (v.getId()) {
        case R.id.button1:
            String user = edt.getText().toString();
            // set url text
            String url = "http://api.twitter.com/1/users/profile_image/"+user;
            txtUrl = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.txtUrl);
            txtUrl.setText(url);

            // load image view control
            imgView = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.imgView);

            // grab image to display
            try {
                imgView.setImageDrawable(grabImageFromUrl(url));
            } catch (Exception e) {
                txtUrl.setText("Error: Exception");
            }
            break;

        default:
            break;
        }

    }
}

Able to connect to Internet and download files, you need to set uses-permission. Open file: AndroidManifest.xml and add this line:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" > </uses-permission>

Final output look likes this:

link building service
link building

Hope this helpful for your small application.

Install Android OS on your PC with VirtualBox

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 09:24:00 -0700

Google's Android is an operating system and software stack for mobile devices. Under the hood, it uses a customized version of the Linux kernel. Android is currently the fastest growing mobile operating system and is generating quite the buzz. If you are curious about it, you can give it a try without having to buy an Android smartphone. Let me tell how to do it.

(You can also check our introductory article on Android here)

LiveAndroid is a project that provides a LiveCD for Android running on x86 platforms. With a Live CD (or Live Distribution) you are able to test an operating system without altering the already installed OS or any files existing on the computer's storage devices. The user can return his PC to its previous state when he is done with the LiveCD. LiveAndroid does not fully support the Android OS, but the most important stuff are included in the distribution (with more added with each release).

LiveAndroid can also be used with a virtualization application. I will show you how to install it on VirtualBox. You can find the ISO files in the downloads section of the project, the current version being 0.3. There are two distinct ISO files for that version:

liveandroidv0.3.iso.001
liveandroidv0.3.iso.002

The two ISO files have to be joint before proceeding with the installation.

If you are running Linux, this is a matter of a single command:

→ cat liveandroidv0.3.iso.001 liveandroidv0.3.iso.002 > liveandroidv0.3.iso

If you are running Windows, use HJSplit(http://www.freebyte.com/hjsplit/ or http://www.freebytesoftware.com/download/hjsplit.zip) to join it. (I remember this tool back from the glory days of floppy disks)

Run HJ-Split → Choose Join → Select “Input File” → Locate the .001 file → Hit “Start”

After the ISO file is ready, start up your VirtualBox application and hit the “New” button to create a new virtual machine.

Follow the wizard and on the “VM Name and OS Type” choose the following:

Name: AndroidOS
Operating System: Linux
Version: Linux 2.6

On the next screen, we select the virtual machine's amount of memory. Since we are talking about a mobile phone OS, I chose only 128MB.

Next, we select the hard disk image that will be used to host our new virtual machine. Select the “Create new hard disk” option.

That will launch the “Create New Virtual Disk” wizard.

We then have to select the hard disk's storage type. I chose “Fixed-size storage”. That will reserve all the configured disk amount up front and will not allow the machine's disk to expand.

Next, we select the disk's location and size. The location should be “AndroidOS”, since that is the new virtual machine we have created for Android. I chose 512MB for the hard disk. Again, remember that we are talking about a mobile phone OS here.

After all these, we get a screen with the summary of our new hard disk configuration.

After we click finish, we are presented with the new virtual machine's configuration summary. If everything looks OK, hit “Finish” to create the VM.

After the machine is created, you will see it in the left panel. Select it and hit the “Start” button to power it up. Since this will be the first time this machine boots, the “First Run Wizard” will appear.

We have to select the installation media, i.e. the source from which the machine will boot and will be used for the installation. That will be the ISO file we have created, so hit on the folder button on the right side of the “Media Source” subpanel.

The “Virtual Media Manager” screen appears. Hit on the “Add” button, we want to add a new media source.

In the new window, browse to the location of the joint ISO file (named “liveandroidv0.3.iso”) and select it for our media source.

Once it is selected, click “Next” to continue.

The summary page of the “First Run Wizard” appears, listing our option. Hit “Finish” to proceed.

The virtual machine will boot from the provided ISO file and after a number of messages, you will see a screen prompting you to choose the desired screen size. (Ignore any messages regarding the color depth settings).

Choose the desired screen size (I chose 800x600) and press “Enter”. The first screen of your new OS will appear. Well done!

You can play with the Android OS, checking out its cool features. Fire up the Browser (it is based on WebKit if I am not mistaken). The home page is Google, obviously. Start typing a new address and hit the “Go” button that will appear. I have to admit that the available web browser is much more powerful than I believed it was.

Here's how our home page looks like:

Read More Details:- http://www.javacodegeeks.com/2010/06/install-android-os-on-pc-with.html

Android Touch Tutorials

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:26:00 -0700

- by Lars Vogel

1. Android Touch

1.1. Android Basics

Touch is an important input method for Android devices. The standard UI components (View) already support touch without the need of the developer to interfere. This article describes how to implement a touch interface in your Android application.
The base class for touch support is the class "MotionEvent". MotionEvent contains the touch related information. To react to touch events in your view or your activity you override the method "onTouchEvent()". This method must return a boolean value which indicates if the touch event has been consumed (true) or if the framework should still react to the touch event (false). If single input is used you can use the methods getX() and getY() to get the current position. Via getAction() you receive the action which was performed.

Table 1. Sample Table

Event	Description
MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN	New touch started
MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE	Finger is moving
MotionEvent.ACTION_UP	Finger went up
MotionEvent.ACTION_OUTSIDE	Finger is leaving the UI component

Multitouch was introduced in Android 2.0 and has been improved in each Android version. This tutorial focus currently on SingleTouch and it is planned to extend this for multitouch.

1.2. Android Basics

The following assumes that you have already basic knowledge in Android development.

2. Singletouch Example

We will demonstrate Singletouch via an example with an own view. Create the Android project "de.vogella.android.touch.single" with the activity "SingleTouchView".
Create the following view class "SingleTouchEventView".

package de.vogella.android.touch.single;

import android.content.Context;
import android.graphics.Canvas;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.graphics.Paint;
import android.graphics.Path;
import android.util.AttributeSet;
import android.view.MotionEvent;
import android.view.View;

public class SingleTouchEventView extends View {
  private Paint paint = new Paint();
  private Path path = new Path();

  public SingleTouchEventView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
    super(context, attrs);

    paint.setAntiAlias(true);
    paint.setStrokeWidth(6f);
    paint.setColor(Color.WHITE);
    paint.setStyle(Paint.Style.STROKE);
    paint.setStrokeJoin(Paint.Join.ROUND);
  }

  @Override
  protected void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {
    canvas.drawPath(path, paint);
  }

  @Override
  public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent event) {
    float eventX = event.getX();
    float eventY = event.getY();

    switch (event.getAction()) {
    case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:
      path.moveTo(eventX, eventY);
      return true;
    case MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE:
      path.lineTo(eventX, eventY);
      break;
    case MotionEvent.ACTION_UP:
      // nothing to do
      break;
    default:
      return false;
    }

    // Schedules a repaint.
    invalidate();
    return true;
  }
}

Add this view to your activity.

package de.vogella.android.touch.single;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;

public class SingleTouchActivity extends Activity {
  
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
@Override
  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(new SingleTouchEventView(this, null));
  }
}

If you run your application you will be able to draw on the screen with your finger (or with the mouse in the emulator).

3. ScaleGestureDetector

The ScaleGestureDetector class allows to determine the predefined gesture of increasing, decreasing the size of the object.
Create the Android project "de.vogella.android.touch.scaledetector" and the Activity "ScaleDetectorTest" and create the following view class "ImageViewWithZoom".

package de.vogella.android.touch.scaledetector;

import android.content.Context;
import android.graphics.Canvas;
import android.graphics.drawable.Drawable;
import android.view.MotionEvent;
import android.view.ScaleGestureDetector;
import android.view.View;

public class ImageViewWithZoom extends View {
  private Drawable image;
  private float scaleFactor = 1.0f;
  private ScaleGestureDetector scaleGestureDetector;

  public ImageViewWithZoom(Context context) {
    super(context);
    image = context.getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.icon);
    setFocusable(true);
    image.setBounds(0, 0, image.getIntrinsicWidth(),
        image.getIntrinsicHeight());
    scaleGestureDetector = new ScaleGestureDetector(context,
        new ScaleListener());
  }

  @Override
  protected void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {
    super.onDraw(canvas);
    // Set the image bounderies
    canvas.save();
    canvas.scale(scaleFactor, scaleFactor);
    image.draw(canvas);
    canvas.restore();
  }

  @Override
  public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent event) {
    scaleGestureDetector.onTouchEvent(event);
    invalidate();
    return true;
  }

  private class ScaleListener extends
      ScaleGestureDetector.SimpleOnScaleGestureListener {
    @Override
    public boolean onScale(ScaleGestureDetector detector) {
      scaleFactor *= detector.getScaleFactor();

      // Don't let the object get too small or too large.
      scaleFactor = Math.max(0.1f, Math.min(scaleFactor, 5.0f));

      invalidate();
      return true;
    }
  }
}

Add this view to your activity.

package de.vogella.android.touch.scaledetector;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;

public class ScaleDetectorTest extends Activity {
  
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
@Override
  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(new ImageViewWithZoom(this));
  }
}

If you run your application zyou should be able to shrink / enlarge the image via a multi-touch gesture (pitch zoom).

Sources:- http://www.vogella.com/articles

Solved 53 common Android problems

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Wed, 8 Aug 2012 01:56:00 -0700

1/ How do I stop my Android phone using data when abroad?

One option is a third party app called APNdroid, from the Android Market, which lets you turn off all data connections via a widget on the home screen. It makes changing these settings much quicker than using the standard Android settings screen and is more likely to act as a reminder for when you next travel abroad.

2/ My Android phone has frozen.

A soft reset will usually do the trick, but there are different methods for different phones. Fast Reboot is an app that will do the job for you by simulating the soft reset process and closing running processes with one tap.

3/ Why can I not download every Android app from the Android Market?

Some apps are designed for specific screen resolutions and thus are not available on all phones. The high-end Android phones tend to support more apps, but landscape screened phones sometimes have problems with particular games and apps. There are other reasons why some apps will not be available, such as compatibility only with specific manufacturer’s devices, but the vast majority of apps should be available for all phones so you need not worry too much.

4/ My smartphone Wi-Fi does not stay connected?

Go to Wireless & Networks / Wi-Fi Settings and press the menu key. Choose ‘Advanced’ and change the sleep policy to ‘Never’. This seems to solve the problem for most people who have issues keeping a Wi-Fi connection alive.

5/ Why do I keep running out of memory?

There are many reasons for this problem, but the cache can often get too full to allow the efficient running of apps. Apps like Cache Cleaner, from the Android Market, let you clean the cache for specific apps to free up memory. You will also need to either uninstall or move apps to an expansion card to free up more physical memory.

6/ I am using too much data. How can I monitor it?

My Data Manager is an excellent solution to monitor exactly how much data you have been using. It offers alerts when you reach a specified level and will help to ensure that you never go over your monthly data allowance again.

7/ The keyboard is very difficult to use!

The default Android keyboard is not easy to use, but there are countless alternatives available. SlideIt is just one example that lets you type without ever removing your finger from the screen; simply slide your finger between letters and watch the magic happen.

8/ My SD card is no longer recognised?

Expansion cards can get corrupted and the most effective solution is to try to reformat them using a desktop or laptop PC. Using the standard file explorer, you should be able to right-click and choose the format option to bring it back to life. It tends to work more often than trying to format it on the phone itself.

9/ My screen is difficult to see in bright sunlight.

The best option is to look for an ‘anti-glare’ screen protector. They tend to be stronger than standard protectors, but crucially also reduce the amount of glare on the screen when lighting conditions are extreme. Sadly there is no complete solution for phones that include screens not easily viewable in bright sunlight.

10/ Some games play very slowly on my phone?

Some of the budget phones include slower processors and the graphics speed can be reduced because of this. The best solution is to test a phone before you buy it because some budget phones are much better than others, and it can be difficult to tell just from the specifications alone.

11/ How do I remove apps?

Go to Settings / Applications / Manage Applications and then select the app you wish to uninstall. Now tap the Uninstall icon.

12/ My screen has cracked! Should I buy a new phone?

Most of the popular phones have parts available from various online suppliers that you can install yourself. The process for replacing a screen is far from easy so do your research before you buy.

13/ Entering my password takes forever!

In Settings / Security / Set up screen lock, you can choose to enter a pattern rather than a password which is not only quicker, but much more secure.

14/ My location is not always accurate in maps?

Go to Settings / Location and make sure that the ‘Use GPS satellites’ option is ticked. This will ensure much greater accuracy when navigating.

15/ The flashing LED is very annoying!

It is easy to stop the LED notification on most Android phones. Simply go to Settings / Display / Notification flash and remove all of the ticks.

16/ How do I wipe my Android smartphone completely?

The best way is to use the Factory Data restore option in Settings / SD & phone storage. To be completely sure that everything has been removed, go through the process twice.

17/ Why can I not use the Android Market on my tablet?

Some tablets come with their own cut-down app market or even none at all. It may be that the Android version installed is too old or the hardware is simply to slow to cope with many apps. Always do your research before you buy.

18/ Some of my Kindle books look garbled on my Android tablet?

This can happen if you are using a custom ROM on your Android phone or tablet. The ROM provider may have a solution, but if not you will need to revert back to the standard ROM to read your books properly.

19/ I dropped my phone in water!!!

This solution won’t help if it has already happened, but if it does in the future take the battery out as quickly as possible and dry as many parts of the phone as you can. Leave it for 72 hours in a dry room and try it again. It may just work.

20/ Can I make the text on my Android smartphone bigger?

Yes. In apps like the browser you can go to the settings and use the ‘Set text size’ option to increase the size of the displayed text. There are some excellent accessibility options available in the Android Market as well which will help.

21/ Can I update my apps automatically?

In the Market app, go to ‘My Apps’ via the menu and select an app. You will see an option half-way down the screen allowing it to auto-update. Only use this for apps you trust.

22/ Where did my paid apps go?

If you change your phone and some apps do not appear in your Android Market account check to make sure they are compatible. If they are not showing after a system update, the Market may be seeing your phone as not tied to your account. This would be the time to contact Market support.

23/ How do I set the minimum age for apps?

Go the the Market app and press the menu key. Choose ‘Settings’ and then ‘ Content filtering’. You can now choose which apps are allowed on your phone.

24/ My touchscreen isn’t accurate anymore?

Very few Android phones allow you to calibrate the screen which means that if you are having problems hitting the right spot on your screen, you will need to try a soft reset, a hard reset and then a support call (in that order) to fix it.

25/ I want to hide my search history.

Go to www.google.com/history in your Android browser and login. You can now choose to remove your searches and not save future searches from this page.

26/ How do I take screenshots?

Some Samsung phones let you press the back key and the home button twice to take screenshots, but for all other Android phones you will need to download and install the Android develop kit. It is a complicated process just to grab screenshots.

27/ How do I download music directly to my phone or tablet?

Amazon MP3, from the Android Market, is a very good option and lets you purchase and install MP3 files directly to your phone without the need of a PC.

28/ I cannot upgrade my Android phone to a new release!

Sadly not all phone manufacturers allow updates to the latest Android release on their phones, but custom ROMs often let users update to the newest features. A search on the internet will show what’s available, but you need to be confident of your knowledge when installing these ROMs.

29/ My carrier won’t let me tether my phone.

This is true of most carriers, but there are solutions that can help. If you do a simple search in the Android Market for ‘tether’ you will be offered a variety of apps that allow tethering, and many also mask the fact you are tethering so your carrier should never know. We don’t advise masked tethering and cannot guarantee its success, but it may work for some.

30/ Some apps won’t install to my SD card?

You should still be able to move apps to an SD card using the Manage Application feature in Settings / Applications. We have seen apps fail to install on an expansion card despite the fact they can be moved afterwards so a little manual intervention may be required to do this for future installations.

31/ How can I change the language on my phone?

Go to Settings / Language & keyboard and choose the language you require. Some apps are only set to work properly if US English is selected, but they are fortunately few and far between.

32/ Can I remove apps that were pre-installed on my phone?

You can, but the process requires rooting the device and then downloading an app called Root Uninstaller. The amount of memory you will save is probably not worth the effort though because you run the danger of making your phone very unstable.

33/ Can I speed up my Android phone?

Apps like SetCPU will let you speed up your phone by overclocking the processor. It will also let you slow down the processor to save memory, but be careful when doing this. Most processors are designed to run at a set maximum speed for a reason and you do run the risk of frying it if you push it too hard.

34/ What’s the best way to backup my phone?

You can backup an Android phone using a multitude of different solutions, but Titanium Backup PRO is considered to be one of the best solutions available. Besides offering the ability to backup every part of your phone, you can also export the backups by email or sync them to Dropbox.

35/ How can I stop viruses from attacking my phone?

Mobile security is becoming a bigger issue as smartphones become more popular and so installing an app to help keep you protected is a very good idea. Kaspersky Mobile Security is just one example that claims to offer real-time protection against a host of threats.

36/ The volume on my phone is too quiet.

Some Android phones suffer from low volume, but help is at hand from AudioBoost which is available from the Android market. It can increase the volume on your phone by up to 30% and is also activated by a handy home screen widget.

37/ Can I change the look of my phone without changing the ROM?

You can indeed. Apps like LauncherPro offer a completely different look to the standard Android interface and also include many features such as 3D effects and a scrollable shortcut dock. It is safer than changing the ROM completely.

38/ The Live Wallpaper seems to use too much battery life?

In tests the battery drain has been shown to be low with Live Wallpapers, but it is still a problem for power users who run out of battery power every day. The simple answer is to use a static wallpaper.

39/ My clock keeps losing time?

This can happen if your clock is set to automatically update the time from your network. If the network clock is slow, so will your phone be. Go to Settings / Date & time and untick the ‘Automatic’ box at the top. Your clock should now run perfectly on time with only manual adjustments needed occasionally.

40/ Can I block unwanted callers?

Most network providers do not offer this facility, but because Android can be tweaked in so many ways there are still options open to you. Extreme Call Blocker Droid works on many Android phone models and blocks incoming calls in almost every way imaginable. It is not the cheapest Android app available, but works extremely well and can save you a lot of headaches in the future.

41/ My phone is slow at times. Are there any tools to help?

The first step would be to remove any unnecessary apps and to ensure that your phone is not full of data you do not need. An app like System Tuner Pro can also help by automatically tuning many parts of your phone to ensure the best possible performance.

42/ Why can’t I use the SD card when my phone is attached to the PC?

By default this is not possible, but if you have rooted your phone you can use an app like Multi Mount SD-Card which lets you access an expansion card from both a PC and phone at the same time. It works very well and this is in spite of our natural concern about accessing a card from two places at once which could in theory lead to corrupted files.

43/ My phone has been stolen. Can I track it?

If your phone has already been stolen you will struggle to get it back. This is, however, a case of prevention rather than cure and we would advise installing a third party app to help track your phone. PhoneLocator Pro is a good example and includes the ability to remotely track a phone using GPS as well as letting you wipe or lock the phone. Everyone should use a solution like this.

44/ Why can’t I use iTunes with my Android device?

You won’t be able to use DRM protected media on your Android device, but you can still use iTunes thanks to doubleTwist AirSync. It lets you synchronise your media between iTunes and an Android phone or tablet and you can do so without a physical connection. It is as good, if not better, than the Apple iOS syncing solution.

45/ How do I close an app that keeps freezing my phone?

The solution is unfortunately more complex than it should be. Go to Settings / Applications and choose ‘Manage applications’. Now choose the app that is misbehaving from the list and tap ‘Force stop’. If the app continues to misbehave you should try uninstalling and reinstalling it.

46/ Can I close running apps quickly?

The default task manager in Android is a good solution, but it could be much quicker. Advanced Task Manager is the most popular tool to deal with running apps and lets you manage all of your running apps with a couple of taps. After a while the process become so natural that you will forget you are even using it.

47/ My phone won’t connect to my PC using USB?

Most Android phones will connect without problem to a PC, but on occasion they will run into trouble. The first place to look is the manufacturer’s website to find the required drivers to connect it. They are not always available and so you may need to send in a support request to get them.

48/ Why does auto-correct not know all the words I need to use?

There is no way that an auto-correct system can know all of the words you need to use, but you can add new ones quickly and easily. Type a word and look for the ‘+’ sign below the text field. Tap it and the word will be added to your dictionary for future use. The more words you add, the more accurate your typing will become.

49/ The slide unlock feature is really annoying!

You can avoid the slide unlock by tapping the menu button twice. Not all phones support this because some manufacturers add their own skins, but the majority should allow this simple and quick workaround.

50/ Switching between keyboards takes forever!

If you have more than one keyboard installed it can appear to be cumbersome to switch between them, but it need not be so. Simply press and hold the ‘123’ button on the keyboard and you will be offered a selection to switch to. It only takes a second.

51/ Why does my screen turn off when charging?

It doesn’t have to and the solution is very simple. Go to Settings / Applications / Development and tick the ‘Stay awake’ option to keep the screen on when charging.

52/ Can I reinstall a paid app?

You can. If an app is misbehaving, the last resort is to uninstall it and then reinstall it which often resolves the problem. Go to the Android Market and click on the ‘My Market Account’ link. You will see an orders tab which should include a list of the apps you have previously purchased. Choose an app and then tap ‘Install’ to complete the process. The Market should not charge you for the reinstall.

53/ How do I know if I have the latest version of Android on my phone?

Go to Settings / About phone and choose ‘System software updates’. Here you will see a ‘Check now’ icon to see if there is a newer version of Android available for your phone.

Sources:- http://www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk/

Text-To-Speech in Android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Wed, 8 Aug 2012 01:44:00 -0700

The Android text to speech engine still seems to be a pretty underused 
resource in Android apps. However, implementing it in your own 
applications is straightforward. There are a few potential issues and 
choices you need to consider, but for most purposes, the process is not a
 complex one. In this tutorial we jump around a bit within one Android 
Activity, but don’t worry, the complete code is listed at the end. The 
aim is to give you a clear idea of the what’s going on at each 
processing stage so that you can successfully use the function in any 
app.

import android.app.Activity;

import android.os.Bundle;

import android.view.View.OnClickListener;

import android.widget.Button;

import android.view.View;

import android.widget.EditText;

import android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech;

import android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech.OnInitListener;

import android.content.Intent;

import java.util.Locale;

import android.widget.Toast;

public class SpeakingAndroid extends Activity implements OnClickListener, OnInitListener {

        //TTS object

    private TextToSpeech myTTS;

        //status check code

    private int MY_DATA_CHECK_CODE = 0;

        //create the Activity

    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {

        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        setContentView(R.layout.main);

                //get a reference to the button element listed in the XML layout

            Button speakButton = (Button)findViewById(R.id.speak);

                //listen for clicks

            speakButton.setOnClickListener(this);

            //check for TTS data

            Intent checkTTSIntent = new Intent();

            checkTTSIntent.setAction(TextToSpeech.Engine.ACTION_CHECK_TTS_DATA);

            startActivityForResult(checkTTSIntent, MY_DATA_CHECK_CODE);

    }

        //respond to button clicks

    public void onClick(View v) {

            //get the text entered

            EditText enteredText = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.enter);

            String words = enteredText.getText().toString();

            speakWords(words);

    }

        //speak the user text

    private void speakWords(String speech) {

            //speak straight away

            myTTS.speak(speech, TextToSpeech.QUEUE_FLUSH, null);

    }

        //act on result of TTS data check

    protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {

        if (requestCode == MY_DATA_CHECK_CODE) {

            if (resultCode == TextToSpeech.Engine.CHECK_VOICE_DATA_PASS) {

                //the user has the necessary data - create the TTS

            myTTS = new TextToSpeech(this, this);

            }

            else {

                    //no data - install it now

                Intent installTTSIntent = new Intent();

                installTTSIntent.setAction(TextToSpeech.Engine.ACTION_INSTALL_TTS_DATA);

                startActivity(installTTSIntent);

            }

        }

    }

        //setup TTS

    public void onInit(int initStatus) {

            //check for successful instantiation

        if (initStatus == TextToSpeech.SUCCESS) {

            if(myTTS.isLanguageAvailable(Locale.US)==TextToSpeech.LANG_AVAILABLE)

                myTTS.setLanguage(Locale.US);

        }

        else if (initStatus == TextToSpeech.ERROR) {

            Toast.makeText(this, "Sorry! Text To Speech failed...", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();

        }

    }

}

Remember to use your own class name and to indicate your application 
package at the top of the file. If you are using Eclipse, you should not
 need to add all of the import statements manually, as the IDE will 
insert some of them automatically. Run your app in the Android emulator 
and hear it in action.

This is a basic overview of implementing Text To Speech in your 
Android apps. The TTS resource provides a wide range of additional 
options you may want to explore depending on the nature of your apps. 
When calling the TextToSpeech object “speak” method for example, you can
 pass a HashMap object indicating the details of more complex playback 
options.

Official Android text to speech Documentation. Details 

Mobile tut plus tutorials. Details 

Android Hive full video and code. Details

A Faster Emulator with Better Hardware Support

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Sun, 5 Aug 2012 22:51:00 -0700

[This post is by Xavier Ducrohet and Reto Meier of the Android engineering team. — Tim Bray.]

The Android emulator is a key tool for Android developers in building and testing their apps. As the power and diversity of Android devices has grown quickly, it’s been hard for the emulator keep pace.
Today we’re thrilled to announce several significant improvements to the emulator, including a dramatic performance upgrade and support for a broader range of hardware features, notably sensors and multi-finger input.

Added GPU Support

The system image we’re shipping today has built-in GPU support (Android 4.0.3 r2). With Android’s growing reliance on using the GPU to improve performance, the difference is significant. In the video below, the emulator is still interpreting ARM instructions; the performance boost is the effect of putting the GPU to work.

As a bonus, since we’re now supporting OpenGL ES 2.0, your OpenGL games can now run inside the emulator.
Please note that there are a lot of GPUs out there, and we haven’t tested all of them for this beta release, so let us know if you have feedback or encounter issues.

More Hardware Feature Emulation

The hardware features of mobile devices are a significant part of what makes them a unique platform for development, so we’re also pleased to announce that in addition to the camera support we added last year, it’s now possible to use a tethered Android device to supply inputs for sensors and multi-touch input.
We’re working on providing emulator support for more hardware features including Bluetooth and NFC.

Improved CPU Performance

We’ve also improved the CPU performance of the Android emulator. Hardware floating point operation has been available for system images since Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), allowing CPU operations to be emulated roughly twice as quickly.
Last week’s r17 developer tools release included x86 system images and host drivers (available through the SDK Manager), allowing the emulator to access the host CPU natively and offer significantly faster execution.
This video shows a CPU-bound application on two emulators running the same system image, one with virtualization, one without.

Building a modern emulator

Because the Android platform allows deep interaction between applications, and with system components, we need to provide an emulator with a complete system image. Our emulator virtualizes a complete device: hardware, kernel, low-level system libraries, and app framework.
Of course, the system being emulated typically has an ARM CPU; historically, we’d been emulating those instructions in software, and that worked OK until the advent of tablet support with additional animations and complexity in Android 3.0.
The missing pieces were the completion of Android x86 support, and the GPU support in last week’s release of SDK Tools r17. This works by funneling the OpenGL ES 2.0 instructions from the emulator to the host OS, converted to standard OpenGL 2.0, and running natively on the host GPU.

Conclusion

The Android ecosystem has a lot of devices in many different form factors. Developers need a good way of testing these apps without having to own everything out there and a fast, rich Android emulator is immensely helpful.
We hope that these new improvements will make the emulator a more useful tool in your development and testing, and look forward to improving it further for you.

Sources:- www.developer.android.com

Close/hide the Android Soft Keyboard in android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Thu, 2 Aug 2012 23:17:00 -0700

You can force Android to hide the virtual keyboard using the InputMethodManager, calling hideSoftInputFromWindow, passing in the token of the window containing your edit field.

InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager)getSystemService(
      Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(myEditText.getWindowToken(), 0);

This will force the keyboard to be hidden in all situations. In some cases you will want to pass in InputMethodManager.HIDE_IMPLICIT_ONLY as the second parameter to ensure you only hide the keyboard when the user didn't explicitly force it to appear (by holding down menu).

or

Also useful for hiding the soft keyboard is:

getWindow().setSoftInputMode(
      WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_ALWAYS_HIDDEN);

This can be used to suppress the keyboard until the user actually touches the edittext view.

Or

Meier's solution works for me too. In my case the top level of my App is a tabHost and I want to hide the keyword when switching tabs - I get the window token from the tabHost View.

   tabHost.setOnTabChangedListener(new OnTabChangeListener()
        {
        public void onTabChanged(String tabId)
            {
            InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager)

            getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
            imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(tabHost.getApplication

WindowToken(), 0);
            }
        }

Official documentation:- http://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/inputmethod/InputMethodManager.html

Sources:- http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1109022/close-hide-the-android-soft-keyboard

Getting Started PhoneGap with Android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Thu, 2 Aug 2012 22:50:00 -0700

This guide describes how to set up your development environment for Cordova and run a sample application. Note that Cordova used to be called PhoneGap, so some of the sites still use the old PhoneGap name.

1. Requirements

Eclipse 3.4+

2. Install SDK + Cordova

Download and install Eclipse Classic
Download and install Android SDK
Download and install ADT Plugin
Download the latest copy of Cordova and extract its contents. We will be working with the Android directory.

3. Setup New Project

Launch Eclipse, and select menu item New Project
Then specify new application project
Then speciy an Application Name, a Project Name and Package Name with Namespace
Then select a graphic
Then Create a Blank Activity
Make sure the activity doesn't inherit from anything. You most likely won't have PhoneGap on your Eclipse Workspace. Once this is done, click finish
In the root directory of your project, create two new directories:
- /libs
- assets/www
Copy cordova-2.0.0.js from your Cordova download earlier to assets/www
Copy cordova-2.0.0.jar from your Cordova download earlier to /libs
Copy xml folder from your Cordova download earlier to /res
Verify that cordova-2.0.0.jar is listed in the Build Path for your project. Right click on the /libs folder and go to Build Paths/ > Configure Build Path.... Then, in the Libraries tab, add cordova-2.0.0.jar to the project. If Eclipse is being temperamental, you might need to refresh (F5) the project once again.
Edit your project's main Java file found in the src folder in Eclipse:
- Add import org.apache.cordova.*;
- Change the class's extend from Activity to DroidGap
- Replace the setContentView() line with super.loadUrl("file:///android_asset/www/index.html");
Right click on AndroidManifest.xml and select Open With > Text Editor

Paste the following permissions between the <uses-sdk.../> and <application.../> tags.

<supports-screens 
    android:largeScreens="true" 
    android:normalScreens="true" 
    android:smallScreens="true" 
    android:resizeable="true" 
    android:anyDensity="true" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_

COARSE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_

FINE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_

LOCATION_EXTRA_COMMANDS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_

PHONE_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

RECEIVE_SMS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

READ_CONTACTS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

WRITE_CONTACTS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.

ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" /> <uses-permission android:

name="android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission

.BROADCAST_STICKY" />

*Note You are adding a blanket list of permissions to your application. You should remove permissions you aren't using before submitting your application to Google Play.

Support orientation changes by pasting the following inside the <activity> tag.

android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|keyboard|

screenSize|locale"

Your AndroidManifest.xml file should look like

4. Hello World

Create and open a new file named index.html in the assets/www directory. Paste the following code:

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<title>Cordova</title>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="cordova-2.0.0.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello World</h1>
</body>
</html>

5A. Deploy to Simulator

Right click the project and go to Run As > Android Application
Eclipse will ask you to select an appropriate AVD. If there isn't one, then you'll need to create it.

5B. Deploy to Device

Make sure USB debugging is enabled on your device and plug it into your system. (Settings > Applications > Development)
Right click the project and go to Run As > Android Application

Done!

From:- http://docs.phonegap.com/

Creating an Android “Hello World” Application with PhoneGap

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Thu, 2 Aug 2012 22:31:00 -0700

PhoneGap is an open source platform that allows you to create cross-platform mobile applications with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. In order to interact with device hardware, PhoneGap provides a JavaScript API that will interface with features such as the on-board camera, GPS, and accelerometer. Even though PhoneGap is great for developing cross-platform applications, the code for developing applications while targetting one platform or another will vary. One of the greatest differences to overcome is the required software requirements. This tutorial will provide an in-depth review of setting up your development environment for Android, and will build a simple “Hello World” app.

PhoneGap Requirements for Android Development

Java JDK

You will need to install the Java Development Kit (JDK). Follow the official instructions for setting this up.

Android SDK

You will also need the Android Software Development Kit. When you install the SDK, you will need to set the the android-sdk-<os>/tools for your user PATH variable.

Eclipse

You will need to download and install Eclipse if you don’t already have it on your machine.

Eclipse ADT Plugin

You will need to also install the ADT plugin for Eclipse. ADT (Android Development tools) is a plugin of eclipse which provide a complete IDE for developing Android application. ADT lets you create new Android projects, and it lets you create Android projects from existing source (this is the way we will open our PhoneGap app for android on eclipse). Using ADT you can also debug an android application. As ADT is well integrated with android SDK running the app from the IDE directly launches the android emulator.
To install ADT click on “install new software” in your Eclipse’s help window and enter the following site to work with: http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/. Then follow the wizard presented to install ADT.

Android Platforms and Components

Once you have ADT installed, you will need to install the Android platform and other components. To do that, go to menu option window->Android DK and AVD manager and select the platform and API level. Android api 2.2 is latest at the time of writing this article.

Apache Ant

If you don’t have apache ant installed you can download it from http://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi. To install it you will just extract the downloaded Zip file and set the bin folder in the ant directory in you PATH variable.

Ruby

If you don’t have Ruby installed, you can download it from this free installer. Once installed, add the Ruby/bin path into your account’s PATH variables.

PhoneGap Framework

Of course, you will also need the PhoneGap Framework itself.

Creating Your Development Workspace

Environment Variables Check:

The following paths should be set in you account’s PATH variable:

your_system_path/jdk/bin
your_system_path/android-sdk/tools
your_system_path/ruby/bin
your_system_path/apache-ant/bin

Apart from these, you will need to set the following variables also:

JAVA_HOME – path of your JDK directory
ANT_HOME – path of you apache-ant directory
ANDROID_HOME – path to your android SDK directory.

To create a workspace for your PhoneGap app on android, go to the “phonegap-android” folder on the command prompt or terminal:

ruby ./droidgap "[android_sdk_path]" [name] [package_name] "[www]" "[path]"

android_sdk_path: Where you installed the SDK
name: The name to give the new application.
package_name: The name you want to give to your application.
www: The folder from where you want to copy the files of your PhoneGap app.
path: The application workspace for your project.

Once you run the command and if everything goes correct messages as shown below will be seen:

The above should create a complete workspace for your PhoneGap Android app.

Setup Your Project in Eclipse

Once this is done, this workspace can be opened in eclipse. In eclipse choose new project and then choose Android Project.

Next select “create project from existing source” and give the project a name as shown below.

If you try to build and run the project in Eclipse you will get a build error. This is because you have not added the external library (phonegap.jar) which is created in the libs folder of your workspace.

To add that external library right click on the project an select Build Path-> Add external archive and then select the phonegap.jar in your libs folder.

If all goes well, this should remove all the build errors in your project. Now try to run your project in the emulator. You should see the screen below. This is because you have not added any PhoneGap HTML or JavaScript files in your project.

In the assets/www folder of the workspace, there will already be a file called phonegap.js. In that folder create a file called index.html with the following code:

<!DOCTYPE HTML>

<html>

<head>

    <meta name="viewport" content="width=320; user-scalable=no" />

    <meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">

    <title>PhoneGap Android App</title>

              <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="phonegap.js"></script>

              <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">

                        var showMessageBox = function() {

                             navigator.notification.alert("Hello World of PhoneGap");

                        }

                        function init(){

                             document.addEventListener("deviceready", showMessageBox, true);

                        }

</script>

</head>

<body onload="init();" >

</body>

</html>

In the code the line:

<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="phonegap.js"></script>

includes the phonegap.js file which lets you call native API’s of android. On the load of the body the init function registers the function showMessageBox on the PhoneGap event deviceready which is triggered when phonegap has done the processing to initialized everything for your program so that it can call the PhoneGap API’s. The showMessageBox function calls the PhoneGap API navigator.notification.alert which displays the messagebox on screen. Running the app after adding the index.html and refreshing the project in Eclipse you will see the following screen:

Now let’s add some more functionality to our app. The following code creates a text box to enter the name of the person and a button when clicked displays a message box:

<!DOCTYPE HTML>

<html>

<head>

    <meta name="viewport" content="width=320; user-scalable=no" />

    <meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">

    <title>PhoneGap</title>



              <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="phonegap.js"></script>

              <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">

              var displayHello = function() {

                        var name =      document.getElementById("firstname").value;

                        navigator.notification.alert("name" + name);

            }

   </script>

</head>

<body onload="init();" id="bdy" >

            <div id="txt">

            <input   type="text" name="firstname" id="firstname" />

            </div>

            <div id ="btn">

    <a href="#" class="btn" onclick="displayHello();">Say Hello</a>

            </div>

        </div>

</body>

</html>

In the following line of code we have created a text box where you can enter your name.

<input type="text" name="firstname" id="firstname" />

In the line

<a href="#" class="btn" onclick="displayHello();">Say Hello

We have created a link which on click calls the function displayHello which fetches the value from the text box and displays a message box saying hello to the name entered by the user.

The GUI shown above does not have any styling to it. You can beautify the display and add colors to it using a CSS file. Create a master.css in your assets\www folder with the following code:

#bdy

{

background:#F0F0F0;

}

#btn a{

border: 1px solid #555;

-webkit-border-radius: 5px;

border-radius: 5px;

text-align:center;

display:block;

float:left;

background:#6600CC;

width:308px;

color:#FFF;

font-size:1.1em;

text-decoration:none;

padding:1.2em 0;

margin:3px 0px 3px 5px;

}

#txt{

border: 1px solid #555;

-webkit-border-radius: 5px;

border-radius: 5px;

text-align:center;

display:block;

float:left;

background:#00FFCC;

width:308px;

color:#9ab;

font-size:1.1em;

text-decoration:none;

padding:1.2em 0;

margin:3px 0px 3px 5px;

}

In your index.html add the following line before in your head tags to link to master.css:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="master.css" type="text/css" media="screen" title="no title" charset="utf-8">

Now if you run the app you should see a screen like the following:

Conclusion

To create a PhoneGap app on Android, a lot of different software has to work together. This could mean that you could have trouble setting up the complete environment to create a PhoneGap app on Android. However, once all the software is in place, you can easily create PhoneGap apps using open web standards like HTML, JavaScript, CSS and PhoneGap’s own API’s to perform device hardware specific processing. This saves you the trouble of learning the native language for Android programming and still has much of the power of custom, native built Android apps.

Sources:- http://mobile.tutsplus.com/tutorials/phonegap

Spelling Checker Framework in Android

noreply@blogger.com (Chaunri) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:22:00 -0700

The Android platform offers a spelling checker framework that lets you implement and access spell checking in your application. The framework is one of the Text Service APIs offered by the Android platform.
To use the framework in your app, you create a special type of Android service that generates a spelling checker session object. Based on text you provide, the session object returns spelling suggestions generated by the spelling checker.

Spell Checker Lifecycle

The following diagram shows the lifecycle of the spelling checker service:

Figure 1. The spelling checker service lifecycle

To initiate spell checking, your app starts its implementation of the spelling checker service. Clients in your app, such as activities or individual UI elements, request a spelling checker session from the service, then use the session to get suggestions for text. As a client terminates its operation, it closes its spelling checker session. If necessary, your app can shut down the spelling checker service at any time.

Implementing a Spell Checker Service

To use the spelling checker framework in your app, add a spelling checker service component including the session object definition. You can also add to your app an optional activity that controls settings. You must also add an XML metadata file that describes the spelling checker service, and add the appropriate elements to your manifest file.

Spell checker classes

Define the service and session object with the following classes:

A subclass of SpellCheckerService

The SpellCheckerService implements both the Service class and the spelling checker framework interface. Within your subclass, you must implement the following method:

createSession(): A factory method that returns a SpellCheckerService.Session object to a client that wants to do spell checking.

See the Spell Checker Service sample app to learn more about implementing this class.

An implementation of SpellCheckerService.Session

An object that the spelling checker service provides to clients, to let them pass text to the spelling checker and receive suggestions. Within this class, you must implement the following methods:

onCreate(): Called by the system in response to createSession(). In this method, you can initialize the SpellCheckerService.Session object based on the current locale and so forth.
onGetSentenceSuggestionsMultiple(): Does the actual spell checking. This method returns an array of SentenceSuggestionsInfo containing suggestions for the sentences passed to it.

Optionally, you can implement onCancel(), which handles requests to cancel spell checking, onGetSuggestions(), which handles a word suggestion request, or onGetSuggestionsMultiple(), which handles batches of word suggestion requests.
See the Spell Checker Client sample app to learn more about implementing this class.

Note: You must implement all aspects of spell checking as asynchronous and thread-safe. A spelling checker may be called simultaneously by different threads running on different cores. The SpellCheckerService and SpellCheckerService.Session take care of this automatically.

Spell checker manifest and metadata

In addition to code, you need to provide the appropriate manifest file and a metadata file for the spelling checker.
The manifest file defines the application, the service, and the activity for controlling settings, as shown in the following snippet:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.example.android.samplespellcheckerservice" >
    <application
        android:label="@string/app_name" >
        <service
            android:label="@string/app_name"
            android:name=".SampleSpellCheckerService"
            android:permission="android.permission.BIND_TEXT_SERVICE" >
            <intent-filter >
                <action android:name="android.service.textservice.SpellCheckerService" />
            </intent-filter>

            <meta-data
                android:name="android.view.textservice.scs"
                android:resource="@xml/spellchecker" />
        </service>

        <activity
            android:label="@string/sample_settings"
            android:name="SpellCheckerSettingsActivity" >
            <intent-filter >
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>
</manifest>

Notice that components that want to use the service must request the permission BIND_TEXT_SERVICE to ensure that only the system binds to the service. The service's definition also specifies the spellchecker.xml metadata file, which is described in the next section.
The metadata file spellchecker.xml contains the following XML:

<spell-checker xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
        android:label="@string/spellchecker_name"
        android:settingsActivity="com.example.SpellCheckerSettingsActivity">
    <subtype
            android:label="@string/subtype_generic"
            android:subtypeLocale="en”
    />
    <subtype
            android:label="@string/subtype_generic"
            android:subtypeLocale="fr”
    />
</spell-checker>

The metadata specifies the activity that the spelling checker uses for controlling settings. It also defines subtypes for the spelling checker; in this case, the subtypes define locales that the spelling checker can handle.

Accessing the Spell Checker Service from a Client

Applications that use TextView views automatically benefit from spell checking, because TextView automatically uses a spelling checker. The following screenshots show this:

Figure 2. Spell checking in TextView.

However, you may want to interact directly with a spelling checker service in other cases as well. The following diagram shows the flow of control for interacting with a spelling checker service:

Figure 3. Interacting with a spelling checker service.

The Spell Checker Client sample app shows how to interact with a spelling checker service. The LatinIME input method editor in the Android Open Source Project also contains an example of spell checking.

More at:- www.developer.android.com